ATTACHMENT NO. 12 HERITAGE PROPERTY RESEARCH AND EVALUATION REPORT WILLIAM CLARKE HOUSES 505-507 and 509-511 ADELAIDE STREET WEST, TORONTO Prepared by: Heritage Preservation Services City Planning Division City of Toronto February 2015
1. DESCRIPTION Above: 505-507 Adelaide Street West (left) and 509-511 Adelaide Street West (right); cover: William Clarke Houses the south side of Adelaide Street West, east of Adelaide Place (Heritage Preservation Services, 2015) 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West: William Clarke Houses ADDRESS 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West (south side of Adelaide Street West, east of Adelaide Place) WARD 20 (Trinity-Spadina) LEGAL DESCRIPTION Military Reserve, Section G, Part Lot 9 NEIGHBOURHOOD/COMMUNITY King-Spadina HISTORICAL NAME William Clarke Houses CONSTRUCTION DATE 1883 ORIGINAL OWNER William Clarke, builder ORIGINAL USE Residential (two pairs of semi-detached house form buildings) CURRENT USE* Residential * This does not refer to permitted use(s) as defined by the Zoning By-law ARCHITECT/BUILDER/DESIGNER William Clarke, builder (attribution) 1 DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION/MATERIALS Brick cladding, with brick, stone and wood detailing ARCHITECTURAL STYLE Gothic Revival ADDITIONS/ALTERATIONS See Section 3 CRITERIA Design/Physical, Historical/Associative and Contextual HERITAGE STATUS Cultural Heritage Evaluation RECORDER Heritage Preservation Services: Kathryn Anderson REPORT DATE February 2015 1 Building permits are missing for this period and no reference to the site was found in the Globe's tender calls
2. BACKGROUND This research and evaluation report describes the history, architecture and context of the properties at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West, and applies evaluation criteria to determine whether they merit inclusion on the City of Toronto s Heritage Register and designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act. The conclusions of the research and evaluation are found in Section 4 (Summary). i. HISTORICAL TIMELINE Key Date Historical Event 1843 The patent for Lot 9 in Section G of the Military Reserve is granted to John Lysight, whose heirs retain an interest in the properties for more than a century 1876 A bird s eye view of the area shows the first modest dwellings occupying the subject sites 1882 Sept When the tax assessment roll is compiled, the properties are occupied by a series of frame houses 1882 Nov Lysight s heirs grant builder William Clarke a 99-year lease for Lot 9 1883 Mar William Clarke mortgages the properties for $2000, with the monies provided by John Clarke 2 1883 Sept The semi-detached houses are in place, with tenants in three of the dwellings and George Clarke identified as the owner 3 1884 Mar William Clarke mortgages the properties again for $2500, with the Lysight trustees providing the funds 1884 Sept William Clarke occupies present-day 509 Adelaide Street West, moving to 511 Adelaide in the next decade 1884 The two pairs of semi-detached houses are illustrated on Goad s Atlas, the first to include this area 1915 June Lysight s trustees and William Clarke agree to relinquish the lease 4 1947 William Clarke s executors and Lysight s heirs convey the properties to the Ideal Construction Company, which begins selling the properties the next year ii. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND King-Spadina Neighbourhood The properties at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West are located in the King- Spadina neighbourhood. The development of this area can be traced through historical 2 Genealogical records suggest that John Clarke was William's father, who occupied present-day 509 Adelaide in the late 1880s; however, other sources indicate that William was raised by Patrick Breen, and continued to board with Breen's family on the north side of Adelaide Street West while the houses at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide were under construction 3 This appears to be an error in the tax assessment rolls, based on other archival documents 4 This also affects Clarke s adjoining row houses at 1-11 Adelaide Place
maps and atlases, including those found in Section 6 of this report. Its origins dated to 1793 and the founding of the Town of York (Toronto) when the extensive area west of the townsite was dedicated for Garrison Common or the Military Reserve. The rapid growth of the community resulted in its westward incursion into the Military Reserve as "New Town" where Upper Canada College and Government House (the Lieutenant Governor's residence, chosen for its proximity to the Third Parliament Buildings directly south). In support of this institutional enclave, residential buildings appeared along King Street West and the adjoining streets. However, the character of the area changed in the 1850s when the first steam railways laid their tracks across the Military Reserve and the adjoining lands were acquired for industrial purposes. Factories appeared on King Street West in the 1870s. After the Great Fire of 1904 destroyed the city's main industrial sector at Front and Bay Streets, the area adjoining the major cross-roads of King Street West and Spadina Avenue became Toronto's new manufacturing district. King-Spadina remained Toronto's primary industrial centre during the first half of the 20th century. After World War II, when many manufacturers relocated to the suburbs, numerous buildings in King-Spadina stood vacant or underutilized. In 1996, the City of Toronto adopted the King-Spadina Secondary Plan, which lifted the area's restrictive zoning and encouraged the adaptive reuse of the existing properties. Twenty years later, the transformation of King-Spadina continues as Toronto's Entertainment District and a sought-after residential community. 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West The properties at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West occupy part of Lot 9 in Section G of the Military Reserve, which was granted to John Lysight in 1843 (Image 2). Boulton's Atlas of 1858 and Gross's 1876 bird's eye view of the area recorded the original modest frame buildings in place along Adelaide Street West in the block west of Portland Street (Images 4 and 6). According to land records, no transactions occurred on the Lot 9 until 1882 when Lysight's heirs offered a 99-year lease to builder William Clarke. William Clarke (ca. 1852-1921) was a Toronto builder who, at the time of his agreement with the Lysight family, resided nearby on Adelaide Street West. By the fall of 1883, the two pairs of semi-detached houses at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide were in place, with three of the four units tenanted. William Clarke resided at present-day 509 Adelaide Street West in the 1880s and in the adjacent house at 511 Adelaide the following decade. In 1889, Clarke built the six-unit row houses at 1-11 Adelaide Place, which ran south from Adelaide Street West adjoining Clarke's residence. Land records indicate that Clarke agreed to relinquish his lease on the Adelaide Street West properties in 1915, although the sites were sold jointly by representatives of the Clarke and Lysight estates after World War II. iii. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Current photographs of the properties at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West are found on the cover and in Sections 2 and 6 of this report. The William Clarke Houses
(1883) on Adelaide Street West are comprised of two pairs of semi-detached houses that display architectural features of the Gothic Revival style popularized for residential buildings in the second half of the 19th century. In Toronto, "Gothic Revival houses are typically symmetrical 1½-storey cottages with (a) centre gable or asymmetric two-storey L-shaped structures." 5 Clarke's houses reflect the former type, with the bargeboardadorned gables, patterned brickwork and bay windows typical of Gothic Revival design. The William Clarke Houses (1883) at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street are organized into two pairs. Each pair features a rectangular-shaped plan beneath a gable roof with a central gable on the north slope that is filled with decorative wood bargeboard. The north elevations are clad with red brick, with contrasting yellow brick applied for the base and string courses, the quoins and the window detailing (the brick on the houses at 505-507 Adelaide is currently painted). 6 The principal (north) elevations are arranged as mirror images with the entrances raised and centred in the walls beneath open porches with decorative woodwork. The entries are flanked by single-storey bay windows with segmental-arched window openings, keystones, brick hood moulds and stone sills. Round-arched window openings are found in the second and attic stories. The side (west) wall of 511 Adelaide is viewed from Adelaide Street West and Adelaide Place. The houses are extended to the south by rear wings. iv. CONTEXT The location of the properties at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West is shown on the map attached as Image 1. The William Clarke Houses (1883) are found on the south side of Adelaide Street West, west of Portland Street where 511 Adelaide adjoins Adelaide Place, the lane extending south from Adelaide Street West where the six-part row houses (1889) numbered at 1-11 Adelaide Place were also constructed by Clarke. On the east, the semi-detached house at 505 Adelaide adjoins the property at 501 (503) Adelaide, containing a house form building dating to 1886 that shares the scale, setback and late 19th century vintage of the subject sites. 7 Further east, the pair of semi-detached houses at 497 and 499 Adelaide Street East (1890) also reflect the residential development of this block in the late 1800s. 3. EVALUATION CHECKLIST The following evaluation applies Ontario Regulation 9/06 made under the Ontario Heritage Act: Criteria for Determining Cultural Heritage Value or Interest. While the criteria are prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, the City of Toronto uses it when assessing properties for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. The evaluation table is marked N/A 5 McHugh, 16 6 Historical atlases shown the buildings as brick-clad rather than solid brick construction (Images 7 and 9) 7 Completed in 1886 for George Haskings, the property at 501 (503) Adelaide has been substantially altered, including the single-storey front addition dating to 1945, which has impacted its integrity as a potential cultural heritage resource
if the criterion is not applicable to the property or X if it is applicable, with explanatory text below. Design or Physical Value i. rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material or construction method ii. displays high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit iii. demonstrates high degree of scientific or technical achievement X N/A N/A Representative Example of a Style and Type - The William Clarke Houses have cultural heritage value as pairs of surviving semi-detached houses on Adelaide Street West, which display features of the Gothic Revival style popular for residential buildings in the late 19 th century. With each pair designed as mirror images, the houses are distinguished in particular by the pattern brickwork on 509 and 511 Adelaide Street West (which is currently concealed by paint on 505 and 507 Adelaide) and the elaborate wood detailing in the gables and on the porches, as well as their connection to one another. Historical or Associative Value i. direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community ii. yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture iii. demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community N/A X N/A Community - The value of the William Clarke Houses is also associated with their role in providing information about the historical evolution of the community, which began as a residential neighbourhood on land formerly allocated for the Military Reserve. They were constructed by local builder William Clarke, who built these and the neighbouring row houses at 1-11 Adelaide Place, all of which survived after the community was transformed as the King-Spadina industrial district following the Great Fire of 1904. Contextual Value i. important in defining, maintaining or supporting the character of an area X ii. physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings X iii. landmark N/A Character and Surroundings Contextually, the William Clarke Houses contribute to the historical character of the King-Spadina neighbourhood as surviving house form buildings that represent the initial development of the Military Reserve as a residential neighbourhood in the mid to late 19 th century where they remain historically, visually and functionally related to their settings on Adelaide Street West.
4. SUMMARY Following research and evaluation according to Regulation 9/06, it has been determined that the properties at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West have design, associative and contextual values as surviving house form buildings with fine Gothic Revival detailing that retain their integrity, provide an understanding of the historical development of this area as a residential community in the 19 th century, and contribute to the historical character of the King-Spadina neighbourhood to which they are historically and visually linked. 5. SOURCES Archival Sources Abstract Indices of Deeds, Military Reserve, Section G, part Lot 9 Archival Photographs, City of Toronto Archives and Toronto Historical Board (individual citations in Section 6) Assessment Rolls, City of Toronto, St. Andrew s Ward, 1880-1892, and Ward 4, Division 1, 1893 ff. Boulton, City of Toronto Atlas, 1858 Cane, Topographical Map of the City and Liberties of Toronto, 1842 City of Toronto Building Records, Toronto and East York, 1971-77 City of Toronto Directories, 1850 ff. Goad s Atlases, 1884-1923 Gross, Bird's Eye View of Toronto, 1876 Hawkins, Military Reserve of Toronto, 1837 Underwriters Survey Bureau Atlas, 1954 Wadsworth and Unwin, Map of the City of Toronto, 1872 Secondary Sources Arthur, Eric, Toronto: no mean city, 3rd ed. revised by Stephen A. Otto, 1986 Clarke Family Records, www.ancestry.ca Dendy, William, Lost Toronto, 2nd ed., 1998 Harstone, Jon, Between the Bridge and the Brewery, 2005 McHugh, Patricia, Toronto Architecture: a city guide, 2nd ed., 1989
6. IMAGES the arrows mark the location of 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West 1. City of Toronto Property Data Map: showing the location of the properties at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street on the southeast corner of Adelaide Place
2. Hawkin's Toronto Military Reserve, 1837: showing the future location of the William Clarke Houses on Lot 9, Section G of the Military Reserve 3. Cane's Topographical Map of the City and Liberties of Toronto, 1842: showing the development to date of the block bounded by King (south), Portland (east), Bathurst (west) and Adelaide (north) where the first buildings are marked and the subject sites remain vacant
4. Boulton's Atlas, 1858: showing the further development of the block, including the first buildings on the south side of Adelaide Street West, east of Portland Street 5. Wadsworth and Unwin's Map of the City of Toronto, 1872: showing the area where the southwest corner of the block has been subdivided under Plan D41
6. Gross's Bird's Eye View of Toronto, 1876: showing the original frame buildings along Adelaide Street West, west of Portland Street 7. Goad's Atlas, 1884: showing the William Clarke Houses in place with the brickclad principal (north) elevations (updates to Goad's Atlases do not show the brickwork, but it appears on the Underwriters' Survey Bureau Atlas in Image 9)
8. Goad's Atlas, 1910 revised to 1912: showing the position of the William Clarke Houses adjoining Adelaide Place and the transition of the residential neighbourhood with the introduction of industrial buildings after the Great Fire of 1904 9. Underwriters' Survey Bureau Atlas, 1954: showing the William Clarke Buildings at 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West
10. Archival Photographs, 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West, 1973: showing the William Clarke Houses in context from Portland Street (above) and Bathurst Street (below) (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 2043, Series 1587, File 3)
11. Archival Photograph, 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West, 1973: showing the principal (north) elevations of the two pairs of semi-detached house form buildings (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 2043, Series 1587, File 3) 12. Archival Photograph, 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West, 1991: showing the north elevations of 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street before the restoration of the brickwork on 509-511 Adelaide (Toronto Historical Board)
14. Photograph, 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West, 2005: view west along the south side of Adelaide Street to Adelaide Place with Bathurst Street in the background (Heritage Preservation Services) 15. Current Photograph, 511 Adelaide Street West, 2015: looking east from Adelaide Place and showing the west (left) and rear (south, right) of the semi-detached house adjoining Adelaide Place (Heritage Preservation Services)
16. Current Photograph, 505-507 and 509-511 Adelaide Street West, 2015: looking south and showing the location of the William Clarke Houses on the south side of Adelaide Street West adjoining Adelaide Place (www.bing.com/maps)